Lightning Swords

Lightning Swords, known in Japan as Ken-Go, is a 1991 arcade video game developed by Nanao Corporation and published by Irem.
The game was an arcade-exclusive game until an emulated version was released in 2022 for the Evercade as part of List of [Evercade cartridges#Arcade|Irem Arcade 1] cartridge.

Gameplay

Lightning Swords is a side-scrolling hack and slash game set in feudal Japan where the player controls a samurai named Blue Dragon. The game consists of five levels. The game has a single action button that controls the sword. By holding the button, the sword's power increases, and the longer the button remains pressed, the stronger the attack becomes once it's released. The jumping is done by holding the joystick up. The player can take four hits before losing a life. The game includes a two-player Cooperative [video game|co-op] mode.

Reception

;Contemporary
Your Sinclair compared the game to arcade game)|Strider] and said it introduces nothing new to the genre. They complained that the boss enemies take too many hits to defeat. Japanese trade press magazine gave the game a rating of 5.53 out of 10.
;Retrospective
Hardcore Gaming 101 summarized the game as "a fun, short, no-nonsense game that aims to do its own thing and does pretty well at it." Retro Gamer wrote: "This mediocre run-and-gun game starts off well, but quickly becomes a churn of recycled enemies, frustrating bosses and tedious and bland level design." Sega-16 compared the game to The [Revenge of Shinobi (1989 video game)|The Revenge of Shinobi] and said: "With colorful graphics, a varied soundtrack, and interesting bosses, it wasn’t a bad way to spend a pocketful of quarters."